Ogbonge doctor wey get strong passion for di wellbeing of mama and pikin dem, Dr Lola Mabogunje dey call on government and everybody to play their part and stop di dying of mama and pikin dem from diseases wey dey preventable and curable. See as she take write am below, with plenty grammar.
Today is International Women Day and I, Dr Nihinlola Mabogunje, a National Advocate for Health #Chose2Challenge the high maternal mortality rates(MMR) and high under-five mortality rates largely caused by preventable- and curable diseases for instance Malaria.
As of today Nigeria MMR stands at 512 per 100,000 live births and Under 5 years is 132 per 1, 000 live births (NDHS 2018). This can be lowered to meet the SDG Targets of 70 per 100,000 live births and 25 per 1,000 live births by 2030, if Nigeria gives the health of Women and Children the priority it deserves.
We need to build the resilience of the National Health System. One key area is increasing the Domestic Funding for Health and ensuring that Nigeria meets the 2001 Abuja Declaration target of allocating at least 15% of the total National Budget to the health sector. Since the declaration, the health budget has never exceeded 6% of the total national budget; 2021 health budget is about 4% of the total budget. Efficient utilisation of the budgeted monies has also become highly imperative.
So today, I #Chose2Challenge the high mortality rates amongst our women and children. May God bless you as you work to save our women and children.
Dr. Nihinlola.T. Mabogunje is the Team Leader of SuNMaP2, Malaria Consortium, Nigeria.
